Book Review: Klara And The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguru

September 25, 2023

As I expected, even after completing this book, I am a little lost. I feel a little like I missed something, and almost want to read it again to see if I gain some insight the second time around. But if you have seen my autumn reading list you know that I do not have time for that, but maybe in the future I will read it again.

This review will contain spoilers. Readers discretion is advised.

This story takes place in a near distant future where children have artificial friends. They are described as being rather lifelike ( very uncanny valley, if you ask me, and I am not so sure I wouldn’t be afraid of them simply because they look too much like a human without being a human, but that isn’t really what this book is about ) and Klara observes the similarities and differences.

Klara is an artificial friend and we meet her in the shop she is going to be purchased from. She is often paired with another AF named Rosa and we quickly learn how remarkable and unique Klara truly is. She seems to have very real emotions, observations, beliefs and even, as the book goes on, the ability to make analogies or comparisons. She sees a little girl walk by one day and becomes convinced that this is the little girl that she is going to go home with. Josie, who is 14 at the time, comes into the shop and tells her that she will come back for her and purchase her later on, and is finally able to keep that promise.

As we learn more about the world through Klara’s eyes, we wrestle with what it means to be human and the lengths we would go to help our children get ahead, even if it may cause them harm. We see the world with Klara’s beliefs and understandings of the world, and see how she understands the beauty, and the heart ache, of the state of the world.

I recommend this book, but I also am not 100% sure what I think of it, or if I really even understand what Ishiguru was trying to say.